Last Winter
by Six-string Samurai
Summary: Kasumi receives a visitor and finds she has a difficult choice to make.


Ranma and Co. is Copyright Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan, Inc. 1993 "Ranma ½" is a trademark of Viz Communications, Inc. "Kamisama no Iutoori," is Copyright Mimori Ao/Margaret Comics

Cool sunlight poured in through the kitchen window and pooled on the countertop as Kasumi prepared a late breakfast. Glancing at the clock, she noted that there was still a few minutes before her father woke; plenty of time to finish up and set the table. It had taken a little getting used to but cooking for two after the hectic last few years was a welcome change of pace. She hummed a comfortable melody, putting the last touches on her father's meal.

The remainder of the day passed languidly; Soun attempted a one-sided game of shogi, and Kasumi caught up on an old book she'd never had the chance to return to Doctor Tofuu. Outside the sun began to disappear behind the Nerima skyline, reminding the young woman that she needed to shop for tomorrow's groceries.

"Father, it's getting late, I'm going out to the store."

Soun paused as he reached for a tile, "Hmm, don't be gone long." He turned his head to regard the sky just beyond the wall surrounding the back yard. "It'll be dark before you know it."

Kasumi's ponytail wavered upon her shoulder as she gently shook her head at her father's concern. Six months and he still had trouble letting her out of his sight. She understood his feelings, but knew it was past time to start moving on. At least he wasn't following her to the convenience store anymore; or when she went to the market. She'd grown tired of the constant stares and whispering that some of the stall owners had taken to behind her back. Thankfully, Soun had finally noticed and let her be after she pointed out the problem a few days later.

It was dark by the time she finished her shopping and left the corner store.

The forecast on the afternoon news had warned of an approaching cold front and the possibility of light snow in the evening. As such she'd bundled up and brought a little umbrella from home, at the time she hadn't noticed which one she'd taken from the closet. When the first few flakes melted on her nose, she popped open the umbrella. The little ducks staring down at her were a bit of a surprise. She'd grabbed one of Akane's old umbrellas. That drew her up short, and she paused in the middle of the sidewalk. Kasumi didn't realize she was tearing up until the ducks began to blur overhead, backlit by a streetlight.

Downcast and lost in thought, she failed to notice a pale cat shadowing her atop the neighborhood wall. It continued following along until she passed through the gate of Tendou home, and then it padded off into the night, leaving the fresh snow along the wall undisturbed.

For the third time in as many days, the pale cat followed the young woman unnoticed as she walked through the snow to and from her home. It wondered and watched, always a few steps behind, ears perked as if it were waiting for something eventual.

Kasumi was about to head home and make dinner when she checked her shopping list and realized that she'd missed a few items scribbled at the bottom of the paper. She laughed to herself; she'd asked her father that morning if he wanted anything and he'd said not to bother; such a silly man. The ponytailed woman folded the list, and started to cross the quiet intersection. She'd taken all of four steps when she heard someone behind her, drawing her up short midway.

"Poor girl, I'm sorry," the voice was faint, almost devoid of emotion.

As she turned to look behind her, a car rounded the corner going a little too fast. The wheels slid a fraction on the icy road and didn't quite catch. The driver caught sight of the girl standing in the street and tried to hit the brakes, only serving to lock them and send the vehicle into a spin.

Kasumi watched, frozen in shock as the car careened toward her. "Oh—," she didn't have time to finish as darkness blossomed, and the street faded from her view.

"Last Winter"

A fanfiction by Six-string Samurai

When Kasumi woke it was to the sound of muffled sobbing. She recognized her father's tears, and wondered if he'd had another breakdown. Then she realized she was lying down, and that she couldn't see anything. Everything was dark, and she could feel a light pressure on her eyes, like something was covering them. She tried to move her arm to reach up and brush whatever it was away, but her body felt too heavy. Her muscles protested, eliciting a whimper.

Hearing the plaintive cry, Soun Tendou all but vanished from the chair he'd been sitting in all afternoon, to appear at the side of the hospital bed his daughter occupied. "Kasumi! My baby, you can't leave me!" He'd already been mourning over her condition, fearing the worst, despite the doctors' assurances to the contrary. As soon as he'd arrived, they'd informed him that she'd been incredibly lucky and only suffered minor injuries, all considered.

"Nurse! Nurse, she's awake!" Soun cried, jabbing the call button on the wall above the bed, heedless of the fact that it wasn't an intercom system.

Kasumi tried to tell her father to calm down, but it was taking all her effort just to remain awake, even speaking was too much for her. As her mind drifted, she wondered what had happened to her. The last thing she could remember was looking at her shopping list.

It wasn't long before an irate nurse showed up, admonishing Soun for disturbing other patients on the floor before turning her attention to the bedridden Tendou. She could see the girl was awake, but just barely. "Go back to sleep dear, you need to get your strength up. Just leave the rest to me." She gave Kasumi's hand a little squeeze of assurance.

"Now, mister Tendou, visiting hours are just about up, and her condition is stable. She'll be waiting here for you in the morning, so you can go home and rest as well. Your daughter is in the best of hands, trust me."

"B-but, I can't leave my baby here all alone," the mustachioed man broke out into fresh tears.

"Mister Tendou, at least come into the lobby so your daughter can hopefully get back to sleep."

Kasumi heard the nurse lead her father away. Despite not being able to see, her eyes did feel heavy. It was getting harder to think clearly. It wasn't long before a dreamless sleep claimed her.

The cat at the foot of the hospital bed stared at the slumbering girl through curious eyes. The whole situation was something of a conundrum. Something unforeseen had happened, a thing unheard of and frankly, quite impossible. One Tendou Kasumi was alive and arguably well. She'd been fated that morning; there was no question about that. In fact, he'd been observing her for the past month in order to ensure things went the way they were supposed to.

Not that he begrudged the girl this little extension, far from it in fact. After being around her, even so short a time, he'd noticed that her existence, while orderly and plain, was otherwise quite empty. Her purpose in life was faint, and hardly visible, which might have accounted for her slated demise so early.

There was also the other matter. Or rather, the one reason he could fathom for his current predicament. The instant of her foretold death, she'd done an incomprehensible thing. At first he'd though he'd been mistaken but it had to be that. The girl had heard him. Which of course was absurd, but there was no other explanation for her to have looked back in that one instant. So here he was, waiting for the girl to wake. He had to know if it was true.

Then he remembered. He had a faster way to get to the heart of the matter.

* * *

"Hey, sis, we're heading out to the airport a little early."

Kasumi looked up from the laundry she was folding to see Akane poking her head into the doorway. "Hmm, I thought your flight doesn't leave until six."

"Six forty-five," she nodded. "But, Nabiki said something about the traffic being swamped around Tokyo this weekend. I told her we'd just take the train," Akane shrugged. "I'm pretty sure she just wants to show off her car, you know how she's been lately." The younger Tendou rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Honestly."

The sisters shared look and broke into smiles.

"So, yeah, I'm going to go make sure Ranma knows. He better be finished packing."

Turning back to the task at hand, Kasumi listened as her sisters footsteps creaked up the stairs. The familiar sound of raised voices drifted down and she shook her head in mild amusement. Those two had been officially together for months now and they hadn't taken long to get back into their old rut. To the couple's credit, there was a lot less property damage once they were told they'd have to pay for any repairs to the house. Especially since Nabiki had gone off to Keio University last spring.

---

Kasumi stood outside the gate, waving until Nabiki's sporty little car disappeared at the end of the street. Letting herself back inside, she was glad her father had gone out with Mr. Saotome for the evening. She really didn't want to have to mop the floor again after having cleaned it that morning. Kasumi was however looking forward to spending time with Nabiki once she returned from dropping off Ranma and Akane at the airport. She'd seen far too little of her sister recently, aside from the few holidays when classes let out.

As it was, she had a lot more time to herself with her little sister going out with Ranma on dates every weekend, and studying for entrance exams the rest of the time. Even her father wasn't around as much, now that it was obvious that the two 'heirs' were getting along and the marriage was becoming more a certain thing. It probably helped that Ranma had been rather clear on his opinion regarding the last wedding fiasco.

---

It was getting late, and neither her father nor Nabiki had come home, or called. When she tried her sister's cell phone number, only the answering service came up. Kasumi was starting to get worried, but then knocking came from the front door. 'Father probably had too much to drink and can't find his key,' she thought. Relieved, she got up to open the door for the two drunken men.

She felt her stomach turn at the sight of two police officers waiting on the doorstep. There was no sign of either her father or Mr. Saotome. "Good evening."

"Miss, we need to speak to the head of the Tendou household," the taller of the two men spoke up, sounding a bit apprehensive.

"My father? I'm afraid he's not here at the moment. Is there something I can help you with?" She didn't feel good at all now.

"Ah, it's important that we contact your father. Is there a way we can reach him?"

"No, I'm afraid not. He should be home soon, if you'd like to wait. Or, I can take a message and pass it to him when he arrives."

The two cops looked at each other as if they were deciding on what to say.

"Miss Tendou, there's been an accident. Your sisters were involved, and," the officer paused to consult a small notepad, "a Ranma Saotome."

"It was on the evening news," the other officer chimed in.

"Oh my, are they hurt? I'll need to find my father to go to the hospital." Kasumi stepped back to reach for her coat.

---

Kasumi blinked, it felt like forever since she'd last been here, even if it had only been a month in truth. Back then it was a little different with her, not really wanting to recognize the three markers she'd found herself kneeling before, amidst the forest of gray stone incense holders, and wooden prayer boards. But someone had to. Her father still refused to accompany her, insisting that his babies would be back any day, and if he wasn't home to greet them, then who would be? He'd fallen into a worse state than he'd been after mother…that hurt Kasumi the most, she realized.

She lost track of time, sitting there, offering whatever small prayers came to mind, relating the events of the last few weeks to her sisters. She skirted the topic of her father, feeling it best to not burden them with things they couldn't do anything about. Eventually, she ran out of words, and was just about to gather herself to head home, when something pressed onto her shoulder.

Startled, the long haired brunette spun around, and found herself face to face with a pale haired boy. "Ah," she gasped, a little startled at his intruding presence. She'd seen a few other people at the cemetery before, but no one had taken it upon themselves to approach her, and she'd likewise left any others to their own thoughts. Was this boy a friend of one of her sisters? He certainly looked the right age. "Hello," she ventured once she'd recovered.

"Hello, Kasumi," the younger boy replied with the hint of a curious smile.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?" Kasumi asked, quite sure she didn't recall him in the least.

If anything, this seemed to bring more of a smile to the boy's face. But, he shook his head, "No, not personally. But I've been watching over you for some time." The boy stood a little apart from her as he spoke. "You've made me a bit curious you see."

"I don't understand what you mean. You've been following me?" She was taken aback, trying to understand if the boy was implying something.

He laughed at her incomprehension. "Yes, I've been following you around for a month or so, ever since I received word. Though truthfully, I was quite surprised that you managed to notice me, especially when you did."

Now she was thoroughly lost in the direction the conversation was taking, and it showed.

"Maybe I can clear things up for you," the boy smiled wider and the air around him seemed to waver. Behind him, the grave markers and trees followed suit, fading away into a lifeless gray.

Kasumi reeled backwards bumping into something hard. She turned, to find herself standing by the lamp post on the corner by the convenience store she shopped at. Despite the hour, the street was deserted. The whole thing was starting to feel familiar.

"You were supposed to die here you know," the boy's voice spoke up from behind her. He was seated on the top of the wall, looking quite comfortable.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you don't remember? It was just this morning."

"I, I don't know what you mean." But, she did. She was starting to understand, a little anyway.

"Hmm, I wasn't too sure at first, but I think you've noticed me all along." The boy seemed to decide something, and he hopped down off the wall. Right as his shoes touched the ground he blurred again, his body shrinking into that of a cat. A cat Kasumi recognized at once.

"Ara, I've seen you around the neighborhood!"

The cat nodded, "I don't know how, but that seems to be the case. And now I don't know what exactly to do about it," the boy reappeared once more. "People aren't supposed to be able to see me; it throws off the whole thing. You're proof of that."

Kasumi frowned, not getting the full implication quite yet.

The boy continued, "As I said, you were supposed to die, not just get sent to the hospital. The car that hit you was originally supposed to kill you, but somehow you escaped the brunt of the impact. You hesitated at the crosswalk, and I'm pretty sure it's because you heard me, which means I failed my job."

Kasumi was speechless. It wasn't every day that someone told you that you were supposed to be dead. "Why were you trying to…kill me?"

"Kill you?" The boy looked momentarily taken aback. "I suppose it might seem that way. Like I said, it's my job. I collect souls and send them to the afterlife."

"You mean…you're a," Kasumi paused.

"A Shinigami. Yeah, that's me. And now, I need to figure out what to do about our situation. I mean, this kind of thing just doesn't happen." The boy appeared to space out for a moment. "I think your father's calling for you."

"Father? Where, I don't hear anything?"

"Hah," the Shinigami chuckled. "It's time for you to wake up, Kasumi. Don't worry, we'll continue this little chat again soon enough."

"Wait! Wake up? What are you," and then she did hear it, her father's voice, calling her. He sounded lost, and so far away…


End file.
